Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 35

Chapter

Thirty-Five

W e stayed at the Montrose castle for a time, but a message from Ehuna summoned us back to the Caputo castle, specifically the library.

I had a feeling I knew what this was about—Legacy’s amulet. I’d told Ehuna about it, and my chest had swelled with warmth at how she’d thrown herself into researching it for us.

It clung to Legacy's throat like a shackle, its cold metal a constant reminder of the spells it was warding off.

While we waited in the library for Ehuna, I traced the outline of the golden pendant. “Quite beautiful.”

“It’s strangling me,” Legacy said with a pointed look.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the amulet.” I grinned.

She matched it with a brilliant one of her own.

"We'll get it off you," I said, stepping close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body.

The air between us crackled with something fierce and tender, the same as it had since our paths collided.

"Removing it… It's not just about being able to be found with a tracking spell." She rested her hand above where her heart beat steady and strong beneath her chest.

"It's about freeing yourself from the war and choosing to be found," I finished for her.

"Yes," she breathed out with a little laugh, her eyes never leaving mine.

"We’ll get it off," I said again, though the how of it remained a mystery even to me.

"Your optimism is as endearing as it is misplaced," Legacy teased, though the glint in her gaze told me she shared in my reckless hope.

I shrugged. "Call it a character flaw, I suppose.”

Hope was a foreign concept to me, yet here I stood, practically bursting with it.

"No, it’s what makes you so infuriatingly irresistible," she said, her tone light but laden with something deeper, something that sent a jolt of anticipation zipping down my spine.

“Well, that makes two of us.” I leaned in for a kiss, so gentle and pure that it took my breath away.

Ehuna came in then with a black cloth bag, and Legacy and I jumped apart.

“Sorry to interrupt, but if we’re going to do this, it’s going to take some time.” She set her bag at her feet. “Now, stand still, Legacy.”

Legacy mostly complied, though her fingers still fidgeted at her sides.

"First, we try the gentle approach," Ehuna said.

Her sigils on her dark skin and the stones on her gauntlet began to glow as she reached out to touch the amulet. The delicate tendrils of magic caressed the cursed jewelry. They probed and nudged, seeking a weakness, a chink in the amulet's armor. It didn’t seem to find any.

The corner of Ehuna’s mouth twitched in annoyance. She was not one to be easily thwarted, especially not by some trinket.

"Let me try something else." She retrieved a small vial from her belt, filled with a dark-purple liquid that shimmered like starlight.

She uncorked the vial, and with a deft flick of her wrist, she poured a single drop onto the amulet.

The air crackled with energy, but as the droplet sizzled against the metal, it became clear that this, too, would not be our easy answer. The amulet remained as intact as ever, its grip unyielding.

"Magic-resistant," Ehuna said, a note of grudging respect threading through her words. "But I have more tricks up my sleeve."

She pulled out a tool from her bag that looked suspiciously like a pair of enchanted shears. The blades glowed red and blue, hot and cold, simultaneously. Ehuna slowly approached Legacy with them.

"Careful with those," I warned, unable to keep the waver out of my voice. "We're aiming for amulet removal, not decapitation."

"Your concern is touching," Ehuna responded dryly. "And entirely unnecessary."

She snapped the shears shut around the amulet with a sound like thunder cracking. Blinding light burst through the room, yet when the light cleared and my heart resumed beating, the amulet sat smugly in place.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "What monstrosity forged this thing?"

"I don’t know, but we should definitely keep it to study it," Ehuna said.

She set the shears aside, rolled up her sleeves, and began a series of incantations so complex that my head spun while trying to follow along. They reminded me of the powerful, dangerous portal spell we’d used to travel to the Caputo queen. But the amulet seemed to drink it in, hungry for the magic that should have been its undoing.

I heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Patience," Legacy murmured.

“I’m fresh out. Maybe if we ask it nicely, it’ll let you go?" I said.

Legacy offered a half smile, but her own aggravation stiffened the edges of it.

“Every lock has its key." Ehuna rummaged through her bag, pulling out bottles filled with swirling colors and small pouches that jingled. She mixed, muttered, and moved with precision.

"Stand back, Collie," she commanded.

I did, watching as Ehuna poured a stream of liquid silver in a circle around Legacy. It sizzled and steamed but seemed to do nothing else.

Ehuna sighed.

"Anything else in that bag of tricks?" I asked.

Ehuna didn't answer at first, her gaze fixed on the library shelves lined with ancient tomes and bottled mysteries. Her fingers brushed over the spines, her touch light as if she feared the knowledge might crumble beneath her fingertips. Then she paused, her eyes narrowing.

"Wait," she whispered.

Snatching a dust-covered volume, Ehuna blew away years of neglect in one breath. The title, etched in fading gold, shimmered faintly: Arcane Bonds and Forbidden Rites .

A shiver prickled up my shoulder blades.

"Found something?" Legacy asked.

"An old spell," replied Ehuna. "It's…volatile."

“How volatile?” I demanded.

"Very," she said dryly, opening the book with reverent caution.

Was this even worth it? What if it hurt Legacy? I didn’t want to ever be parted again from her, but if we were…I couldn’t bear it. But to have her die, here, once again?

I shook my head hard at the thought.

Ehuna chanted words like nothing I'd heard before, harsh and guttural, yet they thrummed with an undeniable power. Magic coiled around her, lighting up her gauntlets and flaring her white sigils on her skin to life, and seemed to pull at the very fabric of reality. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, the only sign of strain.

"Is it supposed to do that?" I whispered, my voice trembling as much as the air around us.

I watched, half in awe, half in abject terror, as a flicker of doubt crossed Ehuna’s face. But then she thrust her right gauntlet into the air toward the amulet.

The air crackled, like the static before a storm, and the hairs at the back of my neck stood at attention. The amulet seemed to shiver.

Legacy gasped. "It's…it's loosening."

I peered closer, half expecting the amulet to explode into a tantrum of dark magic. Instead, it was like watching ice thaw in fast forward, the metal warming and expanding, the edges pulling away from Legacy's skin where they'd once seemed fused.

"It's really happening," I murmured, the words catching in my throat.

Legacy's breath hitched, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.

"Almost…" Ehuna grunted as she gave one last push of energy into the dying spell.

Then, with a click that sounded impossibly loud, the amulet opened. The shackle fell away from the woman I was absolutely not supposed to love, but did anyway.

I threw my arms around her, relief exploding from deep within me. She stumbled into the embrace, laughing.

"Let's never do that again," Legacy sighed against my shoulder, her body finally relaxing.

“Never,” I agreed, aware of the heartbeat thrumming through us both, a rhythm of life and love reclaimed. “Now I’ll always find you.”

She was free. We were free. And it wasn't just the absence of that amulet; it was the chains of war around our hearts dissolving into nothing but love.